Guardians Rising
by AQY
Summary: The events of the Taken King take a turn for the worse ending up with mass destruction across the solar system and a struggle to survive for our main characters. Will they be able to overcome the looming threat and save the universe? Or will they fail and doom their universe to complete destruction at the hands of the Hive. Even so, when you hit rock bottom all you can do is rise.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**TRAVELER DESCENDING**

The sky had darkened over The Last City. The terrible news had returned from the Dreadnaught the day before. The Raid on Oryx had failed. The Chosen Guardian, the one that had destroyed the Black Heart, raided the Vault of Glass killing Atheon, destroyed Crota, and hunted Skolas down, had died at the hands of Oryx, the Taken King.

Erax was heading for the Funeral. He was silent. He had never anticipated this. It made no sense. Eris had personally walked them through it and they had all read Toland's Journal. Yet it had happened. The entire fireteam had been killed.

When he arrived at the Vanguard Hall, he could see the look of grief on the Vanguard's faces. Cayde's face especially. He took his helmet off and placed it next to the other Guardians' helmets. As he took his place in the corner he saw the coffin. It was being carried by Guardians, one from each faction. It was terrible. Within the coffin lay 6 Dead Ghosts, one for each member of the Fireteam. They were delicately placed across the body of the Chosen Guardian.

The Speaker walked in. He spoke. "We are gathered here today to honour the life and the courage of _The Chosen Guardian_. Their life was brutally stolen yesterday by Oryx, The Taken King." He turned to Zavala.

"From what we know, The Chosen Guardian had taken his team all the way up to Oryx's Throne room. This means that his Ghost still has the transmat location in its files. Unfortunately, those files will only be available for one week. We have organized a new fireteam that will avenge The Chosen Guardian and destroy Oryx."

Erax looked at the coffin. He felt empty inside. As the Cryptarch spoke his words of 'wisdom' to the six dead ghosts. Erax felt something inside him... The Darkness. The Speaker was right. It was coming back, and they weren't going to survive it this time.

* * *

_Author's Note: So I just wanted to say to anyone who reads this, thanks for reading thus far and I'd like to give a bit of backstory to this story. _

_So this Fanfiction was originally created sometime around or before August 2016 by a good friend of mine named SmartAurum75. The Fanfiction was then posted on Bungie for a while and I stumbled across the story on August 30th, 2016 and ended up helping to write the story. From that point on we created a great group of writers who went wild with the story and I personally had a great time writing it with the others. Though eventually we stopped the story due to it becoming repetitive in nature. Yet, throughout that whole time it had only ended up on Bungie so I decided 3 years later that I would not only bring the story back, but that I would post it here and attempt to continue and improve the story as I go. Anyways I'd like to say thanks to all of the other writer's who helped with this story, which wouldn't have been possible without you guys. _

_For everyone else here, I hope you have a great day and that you enjoyed reading this chapter. _

_Finally, as with any story, constructive criticism would be appreciated as it allows for both me to improve as a writing and for this story to become more enjoyable for the readers._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Taken**

The other 5 corpses had been left on the Dreadnaught. Or rather, they weren't ever found on the Dreadnaught. A Knight belonging to the _**Blood of Oryx **_walked across the platform. It saw Hive worms clumping on the ground and with its long arms, reached in through the worms and grabbed a Guardian which was being feasted upon. It then placed the Guardian on the ground in front of Oryx.

Within moments the corpse of the Guardian had regained its form. Dark energy flew around the body and covered it. The corpse began to shiver. It then rose. No longer a Guardian. But not Taken. It was both. A fusion of Light and Dark. Life and Death. The ultimate weapon. Able to pass through the protection around the city. The Traveler could not harm it. It was still the body of a Guardian.

The other 4 bodies rose and followed suit. 2 Titans, 2 Warlocks, and their new leader, the Hunter. The Taken Guardians held Stolen Will shotguns and Dreadfang swords.

Oryx spoke in an ancient Hive language. The Taken Guardians bowed and instantaneously teleported away.

At the Tower, the situation had become terrible. Eris was getting voices in her head again, speaking of light turned against itself. The Speaker had fainted and in his 'sleep' was telling of the Death of the Traveler. Cayde-6 had, out of depression because of the loss of his newfound Guardian friend, deactivated himself.

It was a dark time. The funeral had a mandatory early ending so that the Vanguard could plan out the second attack on Oryx. While heading to his quarters after the funeral, Erax had run into a bladedancer he faintly recognized.

"I'm so sorry Erax! I didn't mean too hi-"

"Do I know you?" Erax asked in response.

"The name is Hemera. We trained together." Her voice was familiar

Erax suddenly jumped back to reality. "Right. I've gotta go back to my quarters right now. We'll talk later." He ran from her and back to his quarters.

Once he entered his quarters he felt the Darkness again. This time it was stronger. Stronger than ever. Even stronger than when he and his fireteam had fought the Undying Mind. Then the Tower shook, Emergency sirens blared. The Tower was under siege.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**Fall of the tower**

The sirens had gone off after the Tower was hit. Out of instinct, Erax grabbed his Hard Light and his Thesan-fr4. He ran outside and saw an unholy sight. Taken… In the Tower! Loading his Hard Light Auto Rifle he opened fired upon the Taken. Only at that moment he realised they weren't like most Taken, they were Guardians.

No that wasn't possible. They had been Taken. They were Taken Guardians. And they were infecting.

'No. I can't end up like them' Erax thought to himself. He threw his smoke to the ground and ran to the stairs. As he went up he heard gunfire and screams. The stairs ended at a big black round door.

He pushed it open and it got worse. The area he was standing in was known as Tower North. Now it was a war zone. New Monarchy soldiers fighting against Taken Guardians.

The Speaker's Observatory was in flames. Executor Hideo was on the ground bleeding and slowly being Taken. Then Erax heard her. Hemera! She was being engulfed in the darkness. He grabbed his Dark Drinker off of his back and slashed at the Darkness. It became undone and consumed by the sword. Hemera was safe. He had promised they would speak again.

"YOU SAVED ME!" Hemera yelled. The look of terror that had been on her face moments before had vanished.

"Yeah. Umm. Don't mention it. Please." Erax said in response. He really didn't like being thanked. Protecting people was just his job.

Together they ran to the Tower Plaza, gunning down any Taken they saw. When they arrived they saw the chaos that had taken over the area. Tess's shop had been blown up, Rahool's tent was in ashes, the fence blocking Guardians from committing suicide had collapsed, although Banshee-44 was holding out. He had all the weapons he could ever need. The entire floor of the plaza was on the verge of collapse and the Taken were invading the Hall of Guardians.

"Oh god no," Erax said quietly in terror.

"What now!?" Hemera asks.

"The coffin is still in there!" He yelled back.

"Shit," Hemera mutters.

The two Guardians ran through the fight and into the Hall. Shaxx, Zavala, Ikora Rey, Petra Venj, Eris and a white exo were fighting off the invaders. They were strong together. A true instrument of war. The exo was carrying a blue Pulse rifle similar in design to the one The Chosen Guardian had. They kept fighting as Erax and Hemera hid behind the Crucible Quartermaster table, or at least until the Tower began to collapse.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**TAKING THE CHOSEN**

The table that Erax and Hemera had hidden behind had fallen and pinned them to the wall. They were both bleeding out quickly and needed their ghosts to heal them. Their ghosts, unfortunately, were on a mission to heal the people of the city.

The floor had begun to cave in. The Taken now had an advantage. They could teleport. The team fired their weapons at the Taken but it was no use. Then it happened. Ikora had been hit in the chest by a Taken Titan's stolen Will Shotgun. She struggled for a moment and then died. Only to be revived as a Minion of Oryx.

The white exo transmitted away. Eris fell to her knees and surrendered to becoming Taken. Shaxx was covering Zavala while he reloaded his Fusion Rifle. He heard the sound of a sword. Shaxx turned around to kill the sword wielder.

He was too late. The Dreadfang sat in Shaxx's chest. In a booming voice, he yelled to Zavala. "Last Guardian Standing! Make it count!" He too was then consumed by the Darkness. Just as all seemed lost for both Zavala and our heroes he spotted a Hard Light auto rifle on the ground. He looked up to see Hemera and Erax pinned by the table they hid behind. He grabbed the table and threw it towards the onslaught of Taken. Erax and Hemera were free, but they were injured. Zavala tossed the Hard Light back to Erax and then popped his Ward of Dawn. Their bloody wounds began to heal as he had blessing of light.

A screeching sound blew through the room. Every guardian could hear it. Then a voice, the voice of Oryx. It yelled; "RISE NOKRIS! SHOW THEM THE TRUE MEANING OF THE DARKNESS!" The area around Zavala, Erax, and Hemera suddenly became pitch black. Then a blinding white flash.

The world had darkened. The Chosen Guardian had become Taken. And possessed by Nokris. Nokris spoke. "What was it that Eris Morn's friend said to Crota. Oh yes, I remember. _EVEN GODS CAN BLEED_!"

Out of Nokris's hands launched a ray of Darkness. It tore through the ceiling and out over the City. Onto the Traveler which led to Zavala's Ward of Dawn suddenly collapsing. The Traveler had been, it had just been… it had just been Taken.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**THE OUTPOST**

The floor fell in with Erax, Hemera, and Zavala standing on it. They were doomed. They were all going to die from the fall. What a way to go out. Their Ghosts are either dead or helping some random citizens and they're falling to their demise.

Mere seconds from the ground, a transmat brought them into the interior of Hemera's ship. It was a blockade runner. "Now we're even," said Hemera. She looked around. The cockpit could hold 4 people. 5 if the 5th stood. Zavala walked into the cockpit. "This was manufactured by Dead Orbit," Zavala said. "Interesting considering that you're not a part of Dead Orbit."

"Being perfectly honest with you, I won it in a game of poker. I bluffed and got everyone else to fold." Hemera explained. "Then I repainted it in silver and replaced the Dead Orbit insignia with a Hunter crest."

The three of them sat down in the cockpit. "What do we do now?" Asked Hemera

"Eris set up a base on the moon. We can hope it has supplies." Zavala answered. "Or we go to the Reef and ask Petra Venj and Variks for help if it hasn't been Taken."

"I say we go to the Moon," Erax said. "If there is even a chance that we can get supplies and we can get into the Ascendant Realm without the transmat files."

"Crota has a separate realm from Oryx," Zavala said in retaliation. " And going into a Hive infested realm is probably not the best plan right now."

"He IS the last Vanguard," Hemera said. "I say it's best to listen to him."

Without confirming it with Erax, Hemera launched the ship into warp and headed towards the Reef. Once they arrived at the Vestian outpost, they saw that almost everything was fine. Except for the Eververse machine. It was broken. They docked their ship in the hangar. Hemera transmatted the trio up to the Outpost.

Zavala ran up to Petra Venj who was speaking with one of her troops. "Petra Venj. It is I General Zavala of the Vangua-"

"Quit the small talk and tell me what you need!" Petra said. "And if you need the fleet good luck with that!"

Erax brought out his knife and put it up to Petra's neck. "Listen, Women! We've had enough struggles for a decade in a day! You don't want to Phogoth me off today!" Erax said seriously.

"Well someone has anger issues today," Petra said quietly. She removed her Queen's Choice Sidearm from the center of Erax's chest. "So, the Eververse machine is broken. I demand an explanation. NOW!"

Zavala answered her. "The Tower has been attacked by Taken Guardians. They destroyed everything."

"We just can't catch a break here can we?" Petra asked sarcastically. "I'll help you out" She shouted. "It'd be good to finally be back on the field again. And maybe slit a few throats in the process."

Hemera and Erax looked at each other concerned. This would be a lot tougher than anticipated.

"Variks! You're in charge until I get back!" Petra said. "And do not throw my troops into the Prison of Elders!"

"I will spare your troops, yesss?" Variks said in his crackly voice. "Instead I throw Brother Vance!"

The four of them were brought back on board of Hemera's ship. They walked into the cockpit to prepare for launch. That was when they discovered they were not alone. The Exo Stranger stood in the cockpit…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**A STRANGER ARRIVES**

"I have no time to explain how long I've been here or how I got here," The Exo Stranger says.

"Oh Lord, not this again!" Hemera said. "I was friends with the _Chosen Guardian. _You can skip your dramatic entry!" Hemera was obviously ticked off.

"LET THIS STRANGER TALK YOU HERMIT," Petra says.

"Right. As I was saying. I have no time to explain how long I've been here or I got here. I can only tell you this. Meet me again at the Burning Shrine on Mercury. The Taken cannot infect somewhere that close to the Sun. You and the other 9 survivors will meet there." The exo stranger says before teleporting away.

"Ummm can I come. Yesss please" Says Variks from out of nowhere with a bag full of plushies of his DEAD friends followed by Brother Vance, and a female awoken guardian. The was a Hunter with dark black hair wearing a full set of Kellslayer armor while holding a House Judgement badge. "Hello I'm Exypnos, Petra's sister 76 times exiled now adopted by Variks, my father." Exypnos says.

"How the bloody Dreadnaught did you two get on board!?" Petra asked. "Every ship has a transmat lock"

"How can you be a Fallen's daughter. That's not how it works. Like. At all. You're sure you checked your biology?" Hemera asked. "Because YOU are AWOKEN!"

"So what I'm his ADOPTED daughter! YOU unstarblessed human!" Exypnos says.

As the two huntresses argued, Erax felt it again. The Darkness. It was smothering and he fell to his knees. Holding out his right hand, to his surprise, a Ghost appeared. It wasn't helping. The Ghost looked at Erax in shock. "Guardian Down!" Ghost yelled.

All the passengers of the jumpship looked at Erax on the ground. "THEY'RE HERE! IN THE REEF! THE TAKEN ARE HERE!" Erax yelled clearly in pain.

"THAT TRAITOR IS A TAKEN TRACKING BEACON! KILL HIM NOW WHEN HE'S WEAK!" Exypnos says.

"DREADNAUGHT!" Erax screamed! "GET US TO MERCURY!" Hemera ran to protect Erax. "Venj! Zavala! Get the ship into warp!" Hemera said

"NOOOO HE'S STILL ONBOARD DON'T DO IT YOU KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT! KILl HIM NOW!"Exypnos says.

"Eat light!" Petra said. She launched the ship into warp just as the Taken Guardian ships arrived. "Now, we're sa-"

"NOOO WE'RE NOT HE'S STILL HERE!"Exypnos says as she interrupts her sister.

"Listen 'sister'. We are not related. You may be Awoken but you are not my sister! Variks is not your father and we ar-

"Yes, we are sisters Variks said so he only tells the honest truth! You're a foolish sister." Exypnos says in a teary voice.

"Exypnos says truth yesss, "Variks says.

"Whatever!" Petra says back starkly.

The ship jumps out of warp and into the thin atmosphere of Mercury. As they landed Zavala put on his helmet and carried Erax out. The Exo Stranger runs up to them. Uldren is standing next to her. "Get the medical room ready!" She yells at Uldren. "Zavala, Saladin is waiting inside the Lighthouse."

The group runs into the lighthouse and inside find Lord Saladin, Osiris, and Mara Sov waiting.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**THE PLACE THE LIGHT SURVIVES**

"My Grace!" Petra yells in disbelief. "You walk the stars once again!" Mara Sov smiled. She was glad that her time in hiding hadn't gone to waste. Petra walked up to her in joy to see her again. She was walking in for an awkward hug, but stopped in front of the Queen and bowed.

Osiris walked up to the group. "If we are ever going to fight back against Oryx, then we must train. The void has become unstable due to the Darkness. Your arc is unchanneled. So I will teach you to wield the sun. The power of sol is unmatched and controllable. First power it into an orb of light! You will form your first solar grenade!"

Hemera tried to form the grenade. She failed. Instead, her Arc had become channeled into a gun. An arc powered golden gun. Or a blue gun in this case. She fired it at the Vex targets that the rest of the team were throwing their grenades at. It exploded in a fury of lightning. Then the gun disappeared. The others looked at her. She turned to Osiris. He nodded. Hemera then turned back to Bladedancer. She threw her grenades at the Vex. They immediately collapsed from the lightning. Erax was actually mastering the sun. He was naturally good at it. He used to vanish in smoke and poison too much and was a pro at this kind of thing. Petra pretty much gave up and threw her dagger at the Vex. Exypnos was already a gunslinger and really had nothing to prove.

Within a few days, everyone had mastered the power of the solar subclasses other than Petra (she wasn't even a Guardian so it wasn't really possible) and Hemera who managed to get out of it by channeling her lightning. They each collected a badge with the Iron Crest on it.

"Under normal circumstances, if I were to make you into Iron Lords, I would probably expect you to reach Iron Banner Rank 25 or stop a new resurgence of SIVA. But as it seems, you have already proved you can master a new Subclass or 'perfect' your current one in just 4 days. You have also in all of this terror, kept yourself alive. I am now honored to call you the New Iron. You are all officially Iron Lords" Saladin said. "You have survived the long night. Now let your fire create a new dawn." All the Guardians had been given Iron Lord armor. "We lost so many at the Tower. Our Traveler is dying by the second. You are the last that remains of the light. The Exo Stranger, as she prefers to be called, has seen a world where _The Chosen Guardian _and his fireteam succeeded. We shall make that happen."

"Osiris will supply you with his Trials weapons," Mara explained. "I will give you all one of my weapons as well." She pointed to a wall covered in Trials and Reef weaponry. Saladin walked up to it. He spoke. "For Zavala, I grant you, the Binary Dawn shotgun and the Her Memory auto rifle. For Petra Venj, our first non-Guardian Iron Lord, The Inward Lamp (adept) scout rifle and the Her Champion shotgun. For Hemera, the Reflection Sum (adept) pulse rifle and the Glass Promontory sniper rifle. For Erax, the Doctrine of Passing (adept) auto rifle and the Elevating Vision fusion rifle. For Exypnos, the Water Star (adept) hand cannon and the Queen's Choice sidearm. And for our grace, Mara Sov, Aegis of the Reef and the Her Fury sniper rifle." He put his helmet on. "We must now plan our next mission."

It had been 2 hours. The entire group sat at a long table. There were maps, jumpship schematics, and weapon blueprints on it. Toland's Journal also sat waiting to be read. Mara Sov stood to speak. "As we know. An attack on the Dreadnaught is simply suicidal. Even if the weapon is disabled it can be repaired. In addition to the weapon, the Dreadnaught has a shell which is as I personally know is unbreakable unless fired upon by the Sword of Crota or another _Ascendant _weapon such as it. The Cabal needed to crash their ship in order to even get on board. We can take control of the Dantalion Exodus and establish a base out of those Exclusion Zone beast's ship. But taking the ship won't be easy. We will only be able to deploy Zavala, Petra, and I onto the Dreadnaught. Osiris will explain the next part of the mission."

"The rest of us will invade Crota's _Ascendant _realm and fill the Reef Amethyst I am holding with the remnants of Crota's soul," Osiris says. "It will be heavily guarded and the Oversoul is on high alert. Which is why I'm giving you these." He passed a solar sword to each of them. "They can block out the life-consuming energy of the Oversoul. Not to mention deflecting Ogre and Wizard blasts."

This instructional lesson continued for the next half hour. Erax looked down at the ground. Right now he would have been picking up a kumakatok from Banshee-44. It was those little things he liked that hurt him the most to see go. When Osiris finally stopped talking, Erax walked to the edge of the Lighthouse. He looked out at the Sun and at the Vex spires. He had taken his helmet off at the table.

"So this is the last place the Light survives. A wasteland." Erax said silently. Hemera walked next to him. "Funny thing is that this is also the last place we're going to be before we die... A good part of our team is going to die on this mission. Exypnos said that she might not be strong enough to fight the Oversoul. I believe her." Hemera said sadly. "I'm going to go get ready for launch tomorrow. We leave at dawn… Whenever that is on this Traveler Forsaken planet." She walked away.

Erax closed his eyes. Then it went dark. He woke up surrounded in the Tower. It was in ruin. He was in the plaza again. The sky had become a sea of blight and the Traveler had become an Oversoul. He turned around. It got worse. Hemera, Exypnos, Zavala, Petra, and Saladin's were dead. They were being eaten by Hive Worms. Erax immediately ran up to Hemera. Her helmet was off and her eyes had become pale. She had been hit in the chest by a shotgun shell. He spoke to her in a scared voice. "Hemera?" He became desperate "Hemera are you alive!" He yelled. Then Hemera awoke. "Stab Nokris… after I shoot him..." She said. "behind you…"

Erax looked back. Oryx stood behind him. The Taken King reached out and grabbed Erax.

Oryx then took Hemera. She rose and shivered. Her solar sword had became Taken as well. No. This wasn't happening. Then, suddenly The Taken King crushed Erax to pieces.

Erax awoke. Was that a dream. Could Exos dream? He was in terror from what he had just witnessed. Was it the future? A prophecy? He looked around. He grabbed his guns and checked his clock. The launch was in 15 minutes. He would have enough time to ponder these questions during the ride to the Moon. Then he heard a voice. The voice of Toland the Shattered. It spoke to him. "Don't worry Erax. It will all make sense soon." The voice died. Erax then asked himself if any of this would ever make sense.


	8. Chapter 8

EPISODE 8

**SHATTERED**

Erax ran to the ship. It was an oversized Blockade runner with the Osiris eye painted onto the side. The rest of the ship was black. He walked on board and saw Hemera, Saladin, and 9 other Guardians he had seen recently. There were 4 Warlocks, 3 Titans, and 2 hunters in the group of the other 9 Guardians.

Tellectus a Human female Stormcaller Warlock. Her **KNAWLEDGE** is unmatched by that of her Fireteam members. Her red hair is long and often gets in her face. She wears the Old Guard shader like all of her teammates. She carries the Mida Multi-Tool (which has an ornament that makes it black) as she believes that logically a scout rifle is the only way to go.

Magno an Awoken male Sunbreaker Titan. His yellow eyes are menacing to anyone who sees him. He is a deadly adversary who would much rather take out the enemy before they attack. He rushes his enemies with his Invective shotgun.

Ducis an Exo female Sunsinger Warlock. She was built with leadership in mind. That is why she is the leader of Delta Team. She wields an extremely modified version of the Pocket Infinity Fusion Rifle. Her short temper and having her finger always on the trigger is not a common Warlock characteristic. She hates her teammate Alec Consor because he never really takes things seriously.

Alec Consor (AKA: Alan) a Human male Nightstalker Hunter. He is driven by loot. It is precious to him. He has the Suros Regime Auto Rifle which is his favorite gun. (His Regime has an ornament that makes his weapon black and the red parts glow) He will run if he has too but will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, go back for the sweet loot no matter what.

Stultus an Awoken male Voidwalker Warlock. Stultus is an idiot. He is the dumbest Warlock to ever walk the stars. He **NEVER** uses his grenades or melees and has an artifact that disables his super for two melee and grenade charges. His jump leaves him up in the air long enough for him to get shot to death.

James Nyfir a Human male Stormcaller Warlock. He is the most serious member of Delta Team. A true warrior of the Crucible before the City was Taken. He had gone unbroken during his test runs of the upcoming game mode Supremacy. He was hit with terror when the City was attacked and was the only Guardian to make an immediate escape.

Deinde an Exo female Defender Titan. The Universe shall bend at her will. The orange light of her eyes means death. She is insane and was banned from the Prison of Elders for pulling her Universal Remote shotgun out on Variks. (she wears no backup plans)

Primum an Exo male Sunbreaker Titan. The silent type. His face is black and his eyes are white. His weapon of choice is a Red Death pulse rifle that has an ornament that makes it pure black. He carves his armor with his custom-built sword. (His sword is a Legendary Solar Sword with an ornament that makes it black)

Natus a Human male Gunslinger Hunter. They call him Nate. He was a prisoner for crimes against Humanity in his past life. He was killed when his prison was attacked during the collapse. Now revived as a Hunter he will kill anything he sees as an enemy.

These nine guardians known as Delta team sat in the ship. Erax went and sat down next to Hemera. He looked at her as he put on his helmet.

"Do you know what they're doing here?" Erax asked Hemera. Hemera put her helmet on and explained.

"We are going into the Hellmouth with them and they're pretty well coordinated." Hemera said. "The Moon team is going to be us, Exypnos, Saladin, Alec Consor, and Tellectus. The rest of them are going to Venus to stop the Taken from seizing the Vault of Glass." She took her Trials pulse rifle off of her back. Now that they were all on board they were going to jump into warp. First to Venus and then to the moon. Once they descended on to the Waking Ruins the ship became a lot less crowded.

The trip to the moon was an intense one. The Taken energy surrounding Earth had become a magnet. Getting past it was a nightmare but landing on the Moon was worse. The Hive and Taken Guardians were patrolling. The group landed the ship on the side of the Hellmouth opposite the bridge.

Exypnos got off first and was followed by Saladin. Next were Hemera and Erax and then finally Alec and Tellectus. They looked about. All they had to do was get to the other side of the pit. It was easy enough, or at least any other day it would have been easy. Today the Darkness had Taken Luna. The Fireteam ran around the Hellmouth and to the activation plate. They stood on it. Erax felt the Darkness flowing through his veins. He aimed his Doctrine. Then it happened again.

Taken Guardians teleported onto the bridge. They ran out to the fireteam and opened fire. Exypnos went to the bridge to fight them hand to hand. Her sword lit with flames and as she slashed at the enemies one of them set Exypnos up to die. The Taken Guardian shot Exypnos in the leg causing her to fall off the bridge and into the pit. The other fireteam members ran into the portal continuing on regardless of the loss know they had to achieve their goal. Saladin brought out his axe as they descended.

It was wet, dark, and terribly evil in Crota's ascendant realm and yet with all of that it was a simple task. The lamp maze was no longer filled with Thralls which was a surprise. The Oversoul throne had become a simple bridge. Swordbearers were the only things protecting it. This was not a problem anymore. Saladin held his axe and jumped off of the stairs and down into the group of Swordbearers. He mowed through them quickly. A simple method to mow through simple enemies.

As he removed the axe from the last swordbearer, a Warlock walked out of the shadows. He was wearing the Crota's End armor set. He spoke in a deep voice.

"It still doesn't make sense does it?" The Warlock was carrying a very aged copy of Toland's journal. "Well, then I clearly have some explaining to do! For starters my name is Toland. Yes, that Toland." He said. "I know what you're thinking. I should be dead or lost to the void. But I'm still here. Somehow. Younger than ever"

Tellectus grabbed her sword off of her back. She placed it on Toland's chest. She was angry and the Lightning inside her was aching to come out. Then she charged her sword. "You Hive scum! Toland died years ago! Eris told me everything! You Demonic lump of bones! I'll kill you!" She raised her sword to kill Toland. Only to have Toland blink out of the way and pull out a Necrochasm.

Everyone aimed at Toland. Red dot sights rested on his chest. Fusion Rifles charged to power. He dropped his weapon. He took his Murmur off of his back and dropped it. "After all that's happened you're going to kill me. You've lost too many Guardians already."

Saladin looked at Tellectus and Alec. Alec said something about loot under his breath. Tellectus put her sword away. Saladin nodded and looked towards Toland. Toland picked up his Necrochasm.

"The Taken King's power is limited here. It's an Ascendant Realm. This realm is one of Crota's netherworlds. Forged by his will. It's his ultimate Utopia. The catch is that he could be killed here. Permanently. Which he was. Now Oryx is using it as a bridge to take back Luna for the Taken seeing as it was taken from Crota and the taken by the Chosen Guardian. It's beautiful really. All of that chaos for a ball of stone. Well, the core is actually worth something. It's a tiny planet surrounded by a thin atmosphere of metal. Even fracturing the core could bring the moon to dust."

Toland said darkly. "If Oryx marks this as his realm we could easily kill him here. But the Dreadnaught is now linked to the Oversoul Throne. Once we even get close to killing him he could go back to the Dreadnaught. So don't try it."

Saladin walked up to Toland. "We all thought you were lost forever. You and my sister Efrideet. The two lost Guardians. One lost to Crota the other SIVA. Our two greatest enemies, the Fallen and Hive, and now I've learned that their losses were for nothing." He put his axe on his back. His brothers and sisters, Tarlowe and Omar. They had all died for nothing. The Darkness was still going to survive. Saladin wasn't going to let that happen. "I was wondering if you could speak to the dead for me," Saladin said. "To the Iron Lords, tell them that they will be avenged no matter the cost."

"Making requests already? My, my, Saladin. I had always heard that you were one to rush but that was quick." Toland responded. "I'll try but it might not work. I've been one with the Dark for far too long. I'm part Hive now. They took my eyes. And my hands" He put up his hands to reveal claws. "Then again being one with the Darkness is just as powerful as being able to manipulate it. Because you can. You may be a minion but that faint spark of light is enough to give you your free will. At least that's how it was in my day. These Taken are something else."

As the team walked across the bridge, Zavala, Petra, and Mara fought through the Dreadnaught. The Hive warship was moving closer to Earth. It would not be stopping for anything.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**LOYALTIES**

"I still don't see why we have to stage a full invasion of the Dreadnaught," Petra said. "We needed a single Guardian to take out Skolas."

Zavala gritted his teeth. "Because, we have intel that two Cabal Commanders are attempting to blow the core," he said. "The damage done to Saturn's rings was by a single blast. An explosion on the scale of the Dreadnaught would destroy the entire system. And if they fail to destroy it, then the ship will get to Earth, which will make retaking it an impossibility."

"So, no matter what happens, we lose," Petra said.

Zavala shook his head. "Not if we can somehow gain control of the Dreadnaught's navigation system," he said, "Or at least cripple its' engines."

Mara nodded. "So," she said, "we take out these, 'Bond Brothers,' and then find a way to disable the ship without blowing it up."

"Pretty much," the titan Vanguard replied. The three walked towards the Dantalion Exodus. Petra's radar was bright red. She took out her Inward lamp scout rifle.

"Eyes up, Guardian," she said, "we've got company."

"What are you talking about?" Zavala asked. "There's no one -"

An army of Cabal suddenly came pouring out of the ship - legionaries, phalanxes, Centurions, alongside several Colossi.

Zavala cursed and pulled out his Conspiracy Theory-D. "It's an ambush!" he shouted.

Mara turned around, and her eyes widened. "Yes," she said, "it is."

An army of Hive began pouring out of doors in the Dreadnaught- acolytes, wizards, knights, and teeming legions of thrall. The two forces rushed each other, doing their best to tear the opposing sides apart. Petra ran through the Cabal on to the ship. The doors began to close.

Zavala shouldered his shotgun. "Come on!" he said. Mara and he rushed towards the ship and managed to slip through the closing doors just in time. They looked around. The ship was being repaired. Lights were flashing all around them. They were signaling the Cabal on board to attack the Hive.

"Hallway!" Petra yelled. Several Phalanxes rushed at them, but Zavala quickly dealt with them. The three of them raced down the hall. It was leading to the Bridge.

"I'm reading two Cabal Collusi heading towards the Narthex!" Petra said. "And… that's impossible! Alak-Hul!"

The team raced across the bridge. The 'Bond Brothers' were getting closer to the core and the Dreadnaught was now over Mars. The Cabal had a tactical advantage now. Petra looked solemnly at Zavala. "Well, what do we do now? The Darkblade or the 'Bond Brothers'?"

"Alak-Hul is a deadly mercenary to all of us. He will hunt you to your grave. I suggest we use that to our advantage." Zavala answered. He was desperate now as the Dreadnaught was only a planet away from Earth. He took out his Ghost. It looked at him in shock.

"After all that's happened your best plan is to let that beast out! It could kill us all in one blow!" The Ghost said in a scared tone. (Zavala's Ghost sounds like 1983 Harrison Ford) "I highly advise we just kill the 'Brothers' and then blow the engines with their Cabal explosives."

"WE aren't laying a single bullet on to those 'Bond Brothers' my mechanical friend. We are going to lead the Darkblade to the Brothers. They will bring each other's end. A quick and simple method." Zavala said. He was obviously angry at his Ghost now. "Don't worry Ghost. We'll be a good team." The three of them ran to the door. Mara pressed a button. The door began to open. Outside the Cabal were winning. The Collusi had turned the tide of battle. The three rushed to the Asylum door. There were three Warden Knights guarding the door, but even then it was quick work for Zavala. The Asylum door began to open. Petra ran down the Hall. Zavala and Mara made a slow advance. Then they heard a scream. "PETRA!" The two yelled in unison while Zavala took his Solar Sword off of his back. He rushed to the Hall. Ecthar, the Sword of Oryx had cut off Petra's hand. Zavala charged into battle and slashed at Ecthar. Their blades met in the air. The Light against the Dark. Awoken versus the Hive. An Acolyte ran to Petra. It screamed. In it's forbidden Hive language it yelled: _'GIVE ME YOUR EYES!'_ As it clawed at Petra's face Mara Sov stabbed the Acolyte through the head.

"The Cabal bombs are active! We need to get to the Darkblade's cell now!" Zavala's Ghost yelled. "I'll try to transmat you there!" The Ghost was dying to the Darkness as it was. This is the last stand. Just as it transmitted the three Awoken a Hive boomer hit the Ghost. It exploded in a fury of lightning. And while it took out the ghost the blast also killed Ecthar and the rest of the Hive in the room.

Zavala, Mara, and Petra fell through the air into the cell of the Darkblade. They collided with the water in the dark below. Mara immediately got up. She took her Aegis of the Reef pulse rifle off of her back. Next was Zavala. Then Petra slowly got up. She held her Dagger in her one hand. Alak-Hul smelled them. He raised his axe.

"RUN!" Zavala screamed. He put on his Twilight Garrison and jumped up out of the Cell. Mara disappeared and rematerialized on top. Petra had lost her grappling hook. It was attached to her other hand. She looked up. Then a sudden voice in her head. Toland. '_Ever wanted a dagger for a hand?'_ It said. She attached her blade to her left hand. Jumping to the wall, her dagger gave her perfect climbing abilities. She climbed up. The Awoken trio rushed out. Alak-Hul burst through the ground. He ran towards them. Petra nodded and the trio jumped off of the bridge. The invisible stone platforms materialized. They needed to be quick. Alak-Hul could walk across 5 of these platforms at a time. Zavala changed to Striker. There was a wall in their way. It led to the Narthex. He shoulder charged through the wall. The Queen and Petra ran through after him. The 'Bond Brothers' were about to blow the core. Alak-Hul tore the wall open. Cabal opened fire at the Darkblade while the grating door opened and a Cabal tank rolled through. Zavala changed back to Defender. He put up his Ward of Dawn. The Shield Brothers jumped at Alak-Hul. He waved his axe. It cut off Mau'aul's arm. Tlu'urn fired his arc barrage at the Darkblade. It merely scratched Alak-Hul's armor.

The Cabal tank fired at the Darkblade. It took a chunk out if his chest armor. Taken Guardians teleported into the room. They had come to retake their prisoner. The Taken Hunter Commander walked up to Zavala and punched him in the chest. Then the Hunter took out a Taken version of Sol Edge. Zavala dodged the sword. He took out his 'Her Memory' auto rifle although the slow fire rate wasn't doing him any good. Alak-Hul tore the tank's driver out. Petra took advantage and ran inside. Mara led the 'Bond Brothers' to the Darkblade.

"Right. How do I do this?" Petra said. She didn't know how to use the Cabal tank. Terror went through her. The Taken were coming. She then saw a trigger. She pulled it. The tank's cannon began to charge. Then it fired at Valus Mau'aul. He took the blast and died. Mara looked back at the tank. She nodded. Petra then drove the tank into Valus Tlu'urn. Blue Cabal blood splattered over the Bombs on the core. Alak-Hul smelled it and ran to the core. He tore his axe through the bombs and into the core. The Dreadnaught stopped moving. The Taken Guardians teleported away. Petra looked up. Zavala stared at the Queen. She nodded. The engines had been crippled. The Dreadnaught was now a sitting target over Phobos. The Awoken trio ran out of the Narthex as Alak-Hul finally grabbed his axe from the core. Terror flushed through the Darkblade. The Echo of Oryx appeared in front of him. It screeched and in a moment Alak-Hul collapsed.

This was a Vanguard victory. Zavala led the three to their ship in the front of the Dreadnaught. They boarded. Taken Guardians would be coming for them any minute now. "We'll talk about that tank stunt later Petra," Zavala said. "But for now, we celebrate the first victory against the Darkness in this long night."

Petra put her dagger back on her belt. She smirked as the ship flew away from the Dreadnaught.

On Mars, Prince Uldren and his Crows looked up and saluted. He knew that up there, somewhere, his sister had helped put an end to The Taken King's terrible reign on the stars. For now, though, he and his Crows had their own mission. Find the Taken Hunter Commander and kill him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**ASCENDANT END**

Toland led the team across the bridge. They were going what was once Crota's crystal chamber. He looked to Hemera. "Ever heard of Malok?" Toland said. Hemera shook her head. Toland looked at her surprised. "Big scary Taken Prince. Really a nuisance. He's been running the show down here since Crota fell. I really hope his plan to kill the Speaker fails. I want to be the one that sees the light leave that dictator's body. Malok can kill Hideo for all I care." Toland took out his Necrochasm. He aimed it at the doors to the crystal chamber.

"He really is mad isn't he?" Alan said. Tellectus looked at him in disgust. "What? I just want New Monarchy's loot." He said. "Sorry." Tellectus put her sword back into fighting position. "Loot is all you care about Alan. I hope you die a looty death." Tellectus told him. "OOH same here loot. It's really nice isn't it." Alan said. Hemera thought to herself: _'__He's the only mad one here.'_

As the team walked through the Crystal chamber door, Erax felt the Darkness yet again. "Taken!" He yelled. The others readied their weapons and Erax got up from crouching. A TAKEN SWORDBEARER appeared holding an Ascendant sword. Malok teleported onto Crota's pedestal. Toland saw it and screamed. "NOOOOO. NOT AGAIN!" He fired his Necrochasm. "Well don't just stand there! Someone get the sword!" Hemera turned Invisible and ran to the Swordbearer. Toland fired his Necrochasm at the swordbearer and it died. Erax ran outside to the left with Alec. They fired their primaries at Malok. On the right, Tellectus and Toland fired rockets at Malok. "DOWN HIM!" Toland screeched.

Malok let a Darkness blast fly out of his skull. It hit Saladin. He was slowed. But he rushed at the Boomers with his Axe. They were succeeding until one of the Boomer dropped an Exotic Engram when it died. Alan ran towards it. As he picked it up, Malok fired. It hit him straight in the head. Alan fell to his knees. He was Burning to death. For an Engram. "SWEET! PRRRRRECIOUS! LOOOOOT!" Alan screamed in pain. His armor was melting. Then he collapsed. He had died.

The Oversoul lit with green fire, wind flew through the chamber. It was happening again. Just as the Oversoul drank the life out of Toland, Malok screamed. His legs were being chopped off by Hemera. The Oversoul stopped. It was left with a dilemma. Heal Malok or kill the Guardians. Saladin jumped down to Alan's body. It was still speaking. 'sweeeet… PRRRRRECIOUS… luuuute….' Saladin saw Alan's Ghost. He picked it up. "Please let this work!" Saladin said quietly. Malok and Hemera were engaged in a sword fight. One in which only Hemera had a sword. Then the sword exploded. Hemera flew back into the wall. She fell to the ground. "GUARDIAN DOWN!" Hemera's Ghost shrieked. Malok began to heal. Erax ran to Hemera's corpse. He fought off the savage thrall. Saladin whacked away at Malok. The Oversoul suddenly lit up again. Hemera was dead. The Guardians ran back into the chamber and took out their swords. They blocked the Oversoul gaze. It deflected back at Malok. He fell to his knees. Then he gasped. A massive Raze Lighter sat in his chest. Exypnos. She had killed Malok. Variks transmatted in and whacked the Taken surrounding Malok with his staff. Alan and Hemera began to rise. They were becoming Taken.

"Aww, Shoooot!" Exypnos said. Taken Alan shot at Exypnos with his Taken Longbow. Exypnos had taken the bullet to her heart. Taken Hemera was tearing away the layer of Darkness on her body. She wasn't going to let the Darkness take her. Hemera ran at Alan. She stabbed him in the chest. He died. Temporarily. Hemera was Taken but she was still a child of the Light. Everyone ran to Exypnos' body.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**HUNTING SEASON**

Uldren loaded his Eyasluna. It had Rifled Barrel, 75% Impact, and Max Stability. His perfect weapon. He put his Vestian Dynasty sidearm on his belt. He had an eye of a Gate Lord strapped to his backpack.

"Alright Crows! Let's move out!" He said to his team. They all had their own Eyasluna hand cannon. They walked through the Sands of Mars. Whatever Cabal attacked them were immediately slaughtered. Crow was the true controller of a well-oiled machine. They had no challengers until they made it to the Dust Palace. There was Taken Guardian patrolling the area. Cabal Fleet Ships flew above the building.

No small matter. But it was doable. The Crows slow walked up the Dust Palace. "Fire!" Uldren said calmly. Every single Crow fired at the Taken Warlock blocking the entrance. They made short work of it. They slowly walked inside the Dust Palace. They ran up the stairs and to the Overwatch. Then the windows darkened and the doors closed. Taken Guardians teleported inside. They all had swords, shotguns, and Scout Rifles. Bullets fired while the music track surge of light played in the background. A crow then was hit in the head by a scout rifle blast. Uldren picked him up and gave him a med pack. They were being beaten by mindless drones. (Track called End of the Line now plays) They ran the door. It was jammed. The 7 Crows kept firing their Hand Cannons. Then they ran out of ammo. Uldren popped a team-wide Primary Ammo Synthesis.

An Echo of Oryx appeared in front of them. It yanked the Crows' guns away. Vestian Dynasty, Eyasluna, and their QueenBreakers. Terror rushed right through them. Uldren looked at the ground and spoke. "I have failed you my Grace." Just as the Taken fired at the Crows. A Hammer of Sol flew through the windows and hit the Echo. It burned. Sniper bullets went through the glass. They hit several Taken Guardians. The Titan then flew through the window. They switched to The Last Word and crouched. They fired at the Taken. That was until the Taken Hunter Commander walked through the doors. "You die here, Titan!" The Taken Hunter yelled. The Sunbreaker aimed at the Taken Hunter Commander. "You're just so eager to die!" The commander said. Uldren ran up to the Commander and tackled him. He officially had a Taken Bloodlust. Generations of Fallen Hunting instinct kicked in at that moment. Uldren took out his dagger and plunged it into the Hunter's eye. They stabbed at each other but the Taken was a terrible aimer. Last Word bullets propelled themselves into the Hunter. The Crows grabbed their QueenBreakers and fired at the Taken Hunter Commander, but he just wouldn't die!

He threw a knife at one of the Crows. They died instantaneously. Teleporting to the other side of the room he began firing a Taken Thorn at the Crows, Uldren, and the Sunbreaker. The titan popped his super and threw his hammers at the Taken Hunter. One hit but it merely scratched him. He rushed a Crow, grabbed him and teleported to the ceiling. He dropped the Crow. They died. Uldren picked up the QueenBreaker. He charged it and fired at the Hunter's head. The Taken Commander fell. He was alive but injured. The Sunbreaker Titan punched away at the Hunter. It was now damaging him. The Hunter teleported them all to the roof of the Dust Palace. There was now a deadly drop added to the fight. All that was left now was to kill the Hunter. On a 59 story tall skyscraper on Mars. They all fired at the Hunter. Hive blood flew from the Hunter's body. Then he was dripping Red blood. He was becoming Human again.

"STOP!" The Sunbreaker said. He threw his thermite grenade at the Hunter. The fire was burning the Darkness off of the Hunter. Out of the Taken shell, the Hunter yelled for help. The Taken energy retook the Hunter. The Hunter then threw his knife at Uldren. Uldren was hit. He was standing on the edge of the rooftop. He fell in a burst of white blood. The Crows all fired their QueenBreakers at the Hunter. Nonstop, over and over. The Hunter was not only having the Taken infection killed but himself as well. He nodded and he detonated his Solar grenade on his chest.

On the Dreadnaught, Oryx screamed in pain. He had poured a fraction of his essence into the Chosen Guardians. He grasped at his chest. Malok was dead, Crota was dead, his Daughters were dead, Ecthar was dead, Omnigul was dead, his Warpriest was dead, and now his Dark Guardians were falling. He summoned his Warden Knights. "Repair the weapon, my minions!" He said. "Concentrate its energy into a beam. Set its first target for Mercury. I sense a surge of light there." The Warden Knights bowed. Nokris walked up after them. The Chosen Guardian of which they had possessed was transforming into a Hive. Their hands had become claws and their eyes had become that of an Acolyte. "My King," Nokris said. "I suggest that we test the beam on Mars." He looked up to Oryx who had now returned to his normal size. "The Sunbreaker that killed the Hunter resides there. He lives in the Black Garden. The Vex will have nowhere to go but their precious Vault of Glass. And the Guardians have taken it." Oryx nodded.

In his Hive language, he told them to aim for Mars. The weapon was repaired within the hour. Nokris walked on to the Court of Oryx. Several Taken and Exalted Hive. The Four other Guardians that were on the Chosen Guardian's fireteam were each in front of one of the Taken Races. Nokris began to speak in Hive. "_The Vex have been picking up on the art of the Darkness for far too long. No More. The Planet Mars, The Cabal Fleet, and the Black Garden will fall. The planet will now know the true meaning of the Darkness. Not a machine heart or a fleet of military trained juggernauts, but of the Hive! Today we will show the Light what it is to be the Darkness!"_ All the Taken rose and saluted in the Hitler fashion. Nokris saluted and nodded. The Taken filled with Dark Energy.

Oryx plunged his sword into the Pedestal of Calling. The weapon lit up. The Circle of Death charged with Dark Power. Then it fired at Mars. Phobos was dragged into Mars by the sudden gravitational rift. The beam tore into the core of Mars. The Crows were at the bottom of the Dust Palace when they saw the beam hit. Uldren was just getting up from his fall. The Sunbreaker took out his Ghost. He transmatted the Crows and himself to his ship in orbit. Then the Dust Palace, the Cabal Fleet, Black garden and all were immediately destroyed. The Darkness of the weapon had annihilated the entire planet.

Oryx felt a sudden wave of energy in himself. Yesss. His worm was growing. Oryx became stronger and grew larger. His form had changed. He now had legs. Proper legs. His head remained the same but his eyes were glowing red. He called upon his sword. When it reached his hands he felt that his strength doubled.

The Sunbreaker flew his ship past the Dreadnaught's weapon. Able to jump to warp he set coordinates for Mercury, where he would meet his mentor, Osiris.

Oryx saw the ship. One more time wouldn't hurt. He unconcentrated the beam into the traditional weapon firing mode. He plunged his sword into the Pedestal of Calling again. As the weapon fired the ship went into warp. The energy of the weapon flew through the warp and to Mercury.

Osiris and the Stranger looked outside. They saw the ship explode and then the weapon's energy follow it. The Stranger teleported away. Osiris nodded and stood silently.

As the blast destroyed the Lighthouse, The Burning Shrine, and Vertigo, Toland fell to his knees. "Osiris is dead!" He said to the team. Everyone was checking on Exypnos besides Erax. Erax went to Toland. If Osiris was dead then the end of days was ever nearing. He walked up to Exypnos to check her heart rate.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**VAULT**

Saladin shook his head. He punched at Exypnos' chest. It was no use. Alan crawled out of the Taken Armor. He too was bleeding out. Saladin grabbed Exypnos. Hemera turned on the comms. "Natus. We're going to need an immediate evac. 2 injured, one critically. The other will survive." Natus transmatted them out of there. They launched the ship. This time, it was an ambush. "Shit!" Natus yelled. He flew the ship through the air. "Man the cannons!" He yelled. "And get up here Erax!" Erax ran to the co-pilot seat. They were taking fire. Tombships fired and Waning Star jumpships launched rockets. "I have the right cannon!" Hemera yelled. She fired at a Taken ship. It exploded. Erax looked in shock. He felt sorry. That Taken was once a Guardian. With a soul. Erax put the brake on. Natus looked at him like he was a maniac. Erax opened the back airlock. He jumped out and smashed into the next ship. He grabbed out a Taken Stormcaller EXO Warlock. He threw the Warlock to the Blockade Runner. He triple jumped to the next ship. Inside was a Taken Sunsinger Warlock. He broke the glass and stabbed the Warlock. He grabbed them out and brought them to the ship. He tore the Taken energy off of them. Erax knew who this Sunsinger was. It was Ash Walker. He was a Taken Warlock Commander! Erax took his Dark Drinker off of his back and plunged it into Ash's chest. The Taken energy on Ash's body was absorbed into the sword. Now for the other Warlock. This one was E.X.O. 1.

Across space, aboard the Dreadnaught, Oryx screamed in pain yet again. One of his Commanders that he had put his life force into had died. And become a child of the Light. Nokris stepped into the Altar room. Two of Oryx's five remaining Commanders were now dead or returned to normal. "My King!" Nokris said to Oryx. "The Light is becoming a much larger threat to your light than anticipated. I suggest that we use the weapon on the Vault of Glass. The Stranger and Fireteam Delta are within." The Vex will have nowhere to run. They will become extinct from our system." Oryx looked at Nokris. "A good move. For another time. You may be the next Hive god my son, but you are nothing compared to me."

Oryx walked away. Nokris walked to the Pedestal of Calling. He stepped on it. If his father wouldn't do it he would. He took the Taken Infinite Edge sword off of his back. He stabbed it into the Pedestal. The weapon lit up yet again. It was a beam again. He had the beam charge to 200%. Then it fired. Instead of hitting Mercury, the Moon was coincidentally right in the firing path just as Nokris fired. The beam hit the moon and in a blast of green light and stone, the moon too was gone. Nokris looked in shock. He had just destroyed an Ascendant Realm entrance.

Oryx teleported in and blasted Nokris. Nokris hit the wall. The worm inside him was growing rapidly. The transformation to a Hive had completed. He was now a Taken Guardian and Hive god. His armor he changed into that of a Warden Knight that was Taken. Nokris got up. He was as large as Crota now. The Infinite Edge sword had now become a massive spear. Nokris tackled his father. They fought. Nokris plunged his spear into Oryx's chest. Oryx was desperate and attempted to teleport to his Ascendant Realm. As he did so, Nokris grabbed his wings. They were in Oryx's Ascendant Realm. Oryx could be killed. Nokris tore off one of his father's wings with his bare hands. Oryx stabbed Nokris with his sword. Taken filled the room. Nokris made quick work of them. That was when it happened. Nokris threw his spear into the Taken King. Oryx collapsed. Nokris grabbed the spear from Oryx's back. "You will bow. Or you will die!" Nokris said. "Now 'Taken King', bow to the God of Night." Oryx looked up to his Prince. He had a choice. Die the Taken King or live as the Pride of Nokris. He chose to die the taken King. Oryx rose with his sword in a valient last attempt only for Nokris to ram his spear through Oryx's chest killing him and claiming rulership over the Hive. Nokris was victorious. Now a true Hive God. The God of Night. He had given his father his final gift of love.

The Awoken trio set a course for Venus. They would meet with Fireteam Delta in the Vault of Glass. It was a Regulus Class jumpship. Petra sat in the cockpit. Zavala looked at Mara. "You did well out there. Alak-Hul could have killed us all and you led him to the 'Bond Brothers'. Ending the Cabal reign of the stars." Zavala said. Mara smiled to herself. "My dear Commander, it was not a challenge. It was truly just a foolish creature with an axe." Mara said to Zavala. Zavala looked her in the eyes. Did he like her? No that was too weak of a word. But he didn't love her. Not like _that_. It was still complicated for him. Mara blushed. Her bright blue blood rushed to her face. Zavala never had a wife and if he did in his past life he wouldn't know. But Mara was one with both the Dark and the light. Petra turned around and walked into the cabin. She looked at Zavala and then at her Queen. "Well…" She said. "I'll be in the cockpit if you two need me." Petra flew the ship to Venus. They landed. The Osiris blockade runner was already landed. It stood by the Waking Ruins. Zavala walked out. Saladin stood outside the Vault door.

"I have a transmat to the Glass Throne," Saladin said. "We have pressing matters to attend to." They transmatted to the Throne. "Osiris is dead, Zavala." The Titan Vanguard looked at his mentor in disbelief. Saladin continued. "The Dreadnaught's weapon was repaired as well. The engines will be soon. But the weapon is our most dangerous threat. It.. it um… Destroyed Mars… and the Moon. As well as the Lighthouse." Zavala was in utter shock. This was terrible. Petra ran past them and to the newly established medical bay. It was in front of the left portal. Hemera was treating Exypnos who was still in a coma. Alan was now fine so he wandered off to search for loot in the Labyrinth. Nyfir walked up to Tellectus. She was hurt mentally. And Nyfir was a great therapist. The Exo Stranger sat silently on the stairs. The door that closed the Vault of Glass was broken open. A Vex Minotaur head rested at the door. Erax looked around.

"What have we done to deserve this?" Erax said. "I'm sorry." He was holding a cord that was attached to his head. The cord had a button on the end that read 'detonate'. He didn't know what to do. His systems had all shut down besides his HUD and his mind. He was broken. He tore the button off the cord. He may be broken but he wasn't going to commit suicide because of it. Ash Walker went to him. He was surprised that Erax was actually not dead yet. "Hemera told me about you," Ash said. "You remind me of my friend. Eccentric Warlock. Wore the Ram everywhere. And I mean everywhere. But he got Taken. Last I saw him he was bowing to me on the Dreadnaught. Poor guy. I hated seeing that. Especially seeing him soulless and all. Made me want to cry. But I couldn't. Oryx made me hate him." Ash looked down. He was scared.

"Quinn, Mark-11, Ajax, Daltec, ALL OF THEM! They're all Taken."

"How many more have to die before we destroy the Hive?" The Exo Stranger said. "The Dreadnaught destroyed Mars. If that wasn't a tactical move I don't know what is. Mars was home to both the Cabal Fleet and the Black Garden. The Cabal forces in this system are all but nothing and the Vex have nowhere to go." The Stranger put her 'Fate of all Fools' scout rifle on her back. "We must destroy the Dreadnaught. And I have a plan. I call it operation 5251977. We will send 7 one manned Reef Ships to the Dreadnaught. They will fly their ships down the weapon charging channel. All of the ships will have an Energy Reversal Detonator. Dropping it directly into the weapon's center will reverse the weapon's charge, tearing the Dreadnaught apart from the outside to its core. No mess. The debris will fade out of existence. The Dreadnaught will be wiped away from the Universe. Biggest backfire in history."

Saladin was skeptical. "What happens if we fail?" He asked. The Stranger responded. "Humanity is extinguished and the Hive will destroy the Universe to its extinction. This isn't just about Humanity or the Traveler anymore. The entire Universe could die if we fail." Saladin was now determined to not fail at any cost. "Let's get going." He said. As Saladin walked down the stairs his HUD lit up. A sudden yell from the door. "GUARDIAN DOWN!" The Ghost said. "Is Exypnos dead?" Variks asked. Hemera ran out from the medical tent. "Don't worry! That was someone else… Where is Alan!?"

"Went to Gorgon Maze to look for loot. Yessss." Variks said. "Will be back soon."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**EVACUATION **

Hemera looked to Ash and Erax. "Variks. I think that was him. Ash go look for him."  
Ash nodded. He looked outside He ran out. Through the comms, Ash spoke. "Alan failed the jumping puzzle. He was going after a green engram." There's a Titan down here. He's being camped by a hunter. Who is stealing his loot? A shotgun. It's a relic, Hunter!" Ash went down to the Hunter. She was holding Alan's SUROS Regime. Ash got down there. He took out his Tuonela scout rifle. Then the Titan came. He grunted and then raised his sword. "GRUNT! Hold it. This is a Chosen." The Hunter revived Alan who immediately stole back his SUROS Regime. "Go to the Netherworld!" He said. The Hunter looked back at Ash. "The name is Kiria-5." She said. "And I am the one that is known as the _Looter." _Alan looked her in the eye. He was angry now. Not only had his SUROS been emptied of Ammunition but now his reputation was stolen as well. "If I didn't hate you for this and you were a Human I would probably love you right now," Alan said. Kiria-5 Took out her 4th Horseman and shot Alan in the leg. Grunt then shot him in the back with 3 Machine Gun rounds. Alan screamed in pain. Ash looked at the two Guardians that they had met in the Labyrinth. Suddenly a Gorgon flew into their sight. It saw them only to be chopped in half by Grunt.

"Just come with us," Ash said.

"We're camping in the Glass Throne." The team arrived. Hemera was sitting at the door. She had her helmet off and she wasn't well. Petra sat beside her. She had a robotic hand. Ash walked up to her. "What happened?" Ash asked.

"I did my best. Variks knows that. She just wasn't strong enough… Exypnos is…alive. But she is disabled for right now. Her legs are paralyzed from the waist down without robotic help."

Ash looked up in shock. He saw Variks at the edge of the Glass Throne. "I will kill them all." He said. "House Judgement will end the Taken, Yesss." Variks put his staff on his back. He put on the Hunter Challenge of Elders armor set. This one had four arms and no helmet. In his upper right hand he held a Lord of Wolves, in his two left hands, he held a House of Wolves shock rifle. In his bottom right, a shock dagger.

"We have lost too many. And too much for us to fail now. We will not lose our whole planet." Saladin said. "Tonight we launch to Earth. We take the battle to them!" He was wearing new Silver and Black armor. Same basic design, just in the new Iron Lord colors. Everyone got new armor. They painted their Trials weapons to Silver and Black. The Vault door opened. Earth was going to be Humanity's home once again…

The Hive bowed to Nokris. He stood at the Altar. The Taken teleported into the room. They bowed as well... Quinn, Mark-11, Michael Drake, Ajax, Felix, Daltec, Blacknyfe-12, Brisingr-7, all of them bowed. "What can we do for you my lord?" asked Daltec. The Dead Orbit Logo on his cloak was glowing white and waving in the dead wind. Nokris walked to his servant.

"Charge the weapon. Aim it at the Vault of Glass. Destroy the Light and the Vex, once and for ALL!." The Taken Guardians saluted and filled with Dark Power. He put both hands into the air. The weapon power trenches filled once again with the mysterious blight. The weapon filled with the power. The targeting systems locked onto the Vault of Glass, door.

"Concentrating beam," Ajax said. "Target locked and primed." Quinn shivered and gave the signal to fire. Nokris grabbed his spear and smashed it into the altar. The beam lit up and fired. The Fallen of Earth looked up to the night sky and saw the white beam of death flying over them. Was it possibly the coming of the Great Machine? Their Traveler. The Fallen cheered. The beam flew through the sky. It was faster than the light. It was the Dark. The beam was so close to hitting the Vault of Glass when an asteroid came across its path. As the asteroid exploded it filled the sky with an explosion like fireworks. The beam energy resonated across the sky. A flash of white that could be seen from space. Nokris yelled out in rage, making the hive cower. The God that killed Oryx was truly a force to be reckoned with. "Shall we do it manually my lord?" Felix asks. Nokris transformed to his Taken Hive Guardian form again. "Go then. End them all. Destroy the light and the Vex. Take or kill anything that stands in your way." The Taken bowed. They teleported away. The 3 remaining Taken Guardian Generals stood behind Nokris. Ba-Con, Liber, and Zeta. The last three Chosen Commanders.

"Our master. Shall we be deployed as well?" Asked Liber. "Seeing as the past two times it has resulted in death or loss of a commander." Nokris turned around. He grew back to Hive God form and grabbed Liber. "As much it would grow my worm to kill you, you are the last remnants of Oryx. My father. He was powerful. So I killed him. With my spear. It had to be done. It was my final gift of love to him." Nokris dropped Liber. He then stepped on Liber's legs. Liber teleported away and glared at his master.

Alan was outside the vault when the beam hit. Erax, Hemera, and Tellectus ran outside when they heard the boom. 'D-did you s-see that?" Alan said in shock. "We need to get out of here now." Erax looked to Tellectus. "Pack up now. The Taken have found us." She said into the comms. Everyone an inside they were grabbing their things. Inside Alan's tent, there was a chest full of Exotic and Legendary engrams.

"Move! Move! Move!" Petra yelled. The Guardians grabbed their guns. They were making an evacuation. The Stranger held her weapon. Saladin looked to the Vault door that led outside to the Waking Ruins. It was still night. The blue lava of the volcanoes lit up the sky. Then they saw it. The Taken Guardians ships flew down. Dreadnaught support ships flew over. The ships blasted the mountains and at the Vault. Volcanoes exploded apart. Taken Guardians jumped off the ships. They blasted through the Fallen and Vex. It was the first invasion of Venus since the Vex arrived.

The Citadel began to lose power. It was descending. The Fallen ketch was being torn apart as it was attempting to take off. The ship then crashed into the Echo Chamber. The Guardians ran from the vault. Terror ran through them. The Stranger, Saladin, and the Queen led the group to the ships. The Regulus class Vanguard ship was destroyed. The Osiris blockade runner had been hit. Volcanic ash filled the air. Everyone ran onboard. The Vault door fell open. Natus and Petra ran to the cockpit. The ship rose into the air. Taken bolts passed by. "We're Jumping into warp now!" Petra said. Erax looked 3d to her and nodded. Hemera was in shock. "Warping prematurely could destroy the engines. We are going to get stuck in the warp space!" Petra then charged the Warp drive. Natus tried to turn on the stealth drive. It exploded and set the right engines to flames. They blew. The lights on board the ship failed. Terror ran through Ash. The ship shook. Alan fell and dropped his SUROS Regime. Kiria ran and grabbed it. EXO 1 Held on to the walls. Saladin and Zavala ran to the cockpit. Mara followed them. The Volcanic ash covered the cockpit window. A Tombship flew downwards while firing all of its weaponry at the Blockade Runner. Just as the dark blasts hit Natus brought the ship into warp. An explosion of dark energy engulfed Venus. The Warp space was struck. It was collapsing. The Blockade Runner fell through. Natus and Petra looked around. Everyone else was suffering from antigravity. They were flying through the ship. The glass of the cockpit was shattered. Then the ship fell out of warp space. Everyone fell to the ship's floor. Zavala looked outside. They were sitting right in front of the Dreadnaught.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**THE HIVE NAVY**

Nokris looked outside. He saw the Blockade Runner. Using the weapon on a single ship was a waste. They didn't have any Glass and would die to Oxygen loss anyway. Nokris called upon the Darkness. He sent a message across space. A call to arms. A call to vanquish the Traveler. To the Hive home realm. The message flew across the stars. Every tomb ship in every system and Galaxy received it. The tomb shipss suddenly all converged onto one target. The System of Sol.

Hive across the Universe cheered. The Light would fall. The last known Traveler in existence would be destroyed. The Darkness would rule the Universe and the Hive would give it their love. The Blockade Runner crashed into the Dreadnaught weapon charging channel. "It will be our finest hour!" Nokris said. "Today we bring the Traveler to ashes!"

Nyfir got up. He was carrying Alan. Alan was wounded. Terribly. His ghost had been smashed apart in the crash. It used the last of it's dying light to save Alan. The Exo stranger got out of the ruins of the ship. She was carrying her weapon still. "This is the closest we'll get to destroying this dreaded warship. I have one detonator. That is all we'll need to bring the Hive to their knees." Erax and Hemera walked out of the ship. Petra jumped out of the cockpit. That was when they saw it. Hemera gasped. The body of Tellectus floated past them. Kiria-5's helmet flew away as well. Alan's SUROS was floating away. As it passed Nyfir Alan awoke and grabbed it. "Oh, thank g-god. You're s-safe! M-my PRRRRRRECIOUS!" Petra had her Warlock suit on now. She looked around. In the space around her, the Queen's badge. Petra ran back to the ship. Inside Zavala and Mara lay unconscious pinned against the wall by an engine. Their masks broken open. "My Queen," Petra yells running over to Mara. She and Zavala lay dead emotionless. Kiria-5 walked back to the ship. She was with Grunt.

The remaining Guardians looked out to space. The ship began to shake. A massive portal opened beside the Dreadnaught. A Hive fleet flew out. Holding thousands of tombships within the fleet. 7 more portals opened around Oryx's Dreadnaught. Death flew across the stars as each group of hive arrived.

"Blood of Oryx, Spawn of Crota, the Hidden Swarm, Soul of Nokris!" They're all here!" The Stranger said. She signaled the other Guardians to run inside the Dreadnaught. Blowing it up in the middle of a massive Hive fleet was out of the question.

The group jumped into the weapon. They fell through the dead air. They were in the Hall of Souls. Daltec stood there. He was talking to Quinn. Ash jumped in after the initial group.

"Ghost," Hemera said. Her ghost suddenly materialized in her hand. It was still alive somehow. "Give me something to fight to." Ghost did so. He turned on Seven Nation Army. She dropped her Reflection Sum and took out her Red Spectre. Daltec stared and suddenly made a chase to her. They fought strongly. Hemera never used the blade on the gun until now. Quinn shivered and ran to Ash. Terror fell into Ash. He palmed Quinn who immediately fell. This was a surprise. Erax took out his Dark Drinker. Quinn got up and did the same. But with a Dreadfang. The two Guardians fought. Blade to Blade. Ash palmed Quinn as a support for Erax. Kiria fired at Daltec who threw a knife at her. she caught it and threw it to Hemera who stabbed Daltec in the leg with it. Quinn stabbed at Erax who fell wounded. Ash grabbed the Dark Drinker and fought Quinn. He stabbed Quinn in the chest. Quinn shivered and then fell. He was _UnTaken. _Daltec was alone now. He was injured now. While teleporting away, Hemera stabbed him through the Back with the Red Spectre blade. She tore it out. It was black suddenly and stained with blood. Daltec fell. He was untaken as well. The team was getting back together. Daltec saw the Red Spectre. It was still an AR but it looked like the Red Death. Prototype perhaps. The group got up and ran to the Court of Oryx portal. The Stranger charged the Detonator and threw it through. The Dreadnaught shook. Then Daltec broke the news. "Oryx is dead. Nokris killed him." The team looked in shock and disbelief. The Dreadnaught then shook again. The Detonator hadn't shaken it. It was the engines. The ship was moving to Earth. Along with the other hive ships. Nokris stood at the Altar. He looked to Earth. The shining Traveler. Untaken but now defenseless. It used its powers to untake itself. Nokris walked down off the Altar. Thalnok walked next to him.

"Launch the fleet. End the planet." Nokris said. The Dreadnaught began to fly faster.

The Fallen of Earth looked up again. The Dreadnaught above made them cower. The Hive Warships then used their weapons. The Fallen were extinguished. As the Dreadnaught flew over Bunker RAS-4 rockets flew out of the ground. Rasputin was ready. Or at least a Fallen Controlled version. From the Sun side of the Earth, a new Cabal Fleet arrived. They were ready for total war. No one ever shut down that outbound signal. They were Sky burners, Dust Giants, Sandy Eaters, Red Legion, the entire race arrived. From the Reef, The Fallen reassembled. They would use the Prison of Elders to get their army. The Vex tore out of the crust of Mercury. Every single race was now heading to destroy their true mutual enemy. The Hive.

The Stranger received a signal. It was from the Fallen. It was an alliance request to all non-Hive races. Cabal and Vex immediately accepted. The Stranger looked to Erax. He nodded. Guardians, Fallen, Vex, and Cabal in a Grand Alliance to destroy the Hive.

Nokris received the signal. He ran to the Altar again. "Taken! Hive!" He yelled. "Annihilate everything in your path. The Traveler is the least of our concerns." The other tombships received the signal. They deployed every Hive they had. Then Nokris found the alliance signal. It was coming from the Hall of Souls.

Both the Stranger and Nokris realized this at the same time. The Stranger looked around. "Find a ship!" She said to the group. Daltec led the way. Nokris deployed the Taken Guardians. (Music track End of the Line plays) They ran to the hidden ship hangar. Taken Guardian ships were landed. Daltec looked to Quinn. They searched the area. No Taken in sight. The group searched for separate ships. They needed to be alive if one got shot down. The only problem here was that they still had Exypnos to worry about. Who was the handicap. Variks stepped up. "I will take Exypnos," he said.

"I will Guard Exypnos. Yesss." He said, "She will live." Petra saw Variks differently. He was not just a Vandal. he was a Guard. Then the light of the sun took effect. They were on Earth. The Guardians got on board their ships. They had to leave now. "Destroy the Dreadnaught." The Stranger said. "No matter the cost." Taken Guardians suddenly poured into the room. She was staying to fight them off. The Guardians got in the ships. They flew out. Hive Tombships were flying by as well. Zeta then walked into the Hangar. He threw a Taken Hammer at the Stranger. She shielded herself. In the Hive language, Liber alerted the fleet to take down the Taken Guardian ships. The Dreadnaught beam lit up. It fired at Ash's ship and, Boom! Gone forever.

"Head to the city!" Erax said into the comms. "Okay, Erax! You better be right!" Hemera said back. The beam fired again. Grunt was gone. Kiria-5 changed course. She was trying to dodge the beam. The weapon fired again. Nyfir was dead. Stultus changed his course as well. Right into the beam's range. The weapon fired. There went Stultus. "Everyone is going to die you, idiot!" Alan yelled into the comms to Erax. The Tombships hit Petra's ship. "Goodbye, my friends." She said. She turned the ship around and flew it right into the weapon. As the Guardians flew past the Tower Ruins they saw something. A Guardian team on the ground. They were being led by a New Monarchy Titan. The Dreadnaught then fired at the Tower. It was completely destroyed this time. Quinn followed Kiria. The weapon fired again. It hit Kiria-5. Quinn was hit by her ship's debris. "Not me too!" He said. Daltec went to save Quinn. The dreadnaught then used its weapon against the ships yet again. "Pull up!" Daltec yelled out. Quinn did so. Daltec failed to pull up. His ship exploded in the weapon blast. The remaining Guardians regrouped. They were heading to the city for landing.

When they landed it was a nightmare. The Dreadnaught was circling the city. As they landed the Guardian Resistance in the City went to them. "Highway! Check out these Guardians!" Highway ran to the NM Titan. EXO-1 landed just as the Resistance arrived.

"Now what do have here?" Highway said. "These ones have been through a lot. Let's show them how we treat newcomers here."


End file.
